tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post3280498264086209291..comments2023-11-24T03:48:54.813-05:00Comments on No More Hornets: And Just Think: No More Silly Scarlet A'sThe Exterminatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452054124550486048noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-36148686417161587462007-10-28T17:17:00.000-04:002007-10-28T17:17:00.000-04:00"However, there are those folks in the Atheosphere..."However, there are those folks in the Atheosphere who want to claim that you can't tell the players without a scorecard."<BR/><BR/>Yes, they do. The purpose being, I think, to be able to accept or reject whatever is being said without the necessity of actually <I>listening</I>.Susannah Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11923063322849781223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-60674953163463591832007-10-28T16:32:00.000-04:002007-10-28T16:32:00.000-04:00Weeta:Glad you wandered over here. You've restated...Weeta:<BR/>Glad you wandered over here. You've restated my point exactly.<BR/><BR/>However, there <I>are</I> those folks in the Atheosphere who want to claim that you can't tell the players without a scorecard.The Exterminatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452054124550486048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-11865765795841128412007-10-28T16:00:00.000-04:002007-10-28T16:00:00.000-04:00I am an atheist .... I am a reasoner ... godless ....I am an atheist .... I am a reasoner ... godless ... infidel ... apostate ... a "bright" ... a member of the EAC ...<BR/><BR/>Hmm. None of those does anything for me. They don't define me; they point at one (important, but not defining) facet of who I am.<BR/><BR/>I believe many things. I don't believe many others. The existence of God is just one of those others. <BR/><BR/>I don't think I need a label, which doesn't define me in any case, just the box people may want to put me in.Susannah Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11923063322849781223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-8698143836242258342007-10-11T03:35:00.000-04:002007-10-11T03:35:00.000-04:00Reason is the tool. Atheism is the result.Hey, I ...Reason is the tool. Atheism is the result.<BR/><BR/>Hey, I wonder if there are any reasoners in a foxhole?John Evohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10868904051881865159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-19206518725005651722007-10-10T22:56:00.000-04:002007-10-10T22:56:00.000-04:00Babs:You may want to get Sam Harris's permission o...Babs:<BR/><BR/>You may want to get Sam Harris's permission on that one.The Exterminatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452054124550486048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-48519153008716353172007-10-10T22:08:00.000-04:002007-10-10T22:08:00.000-04:00I think I'm just going to stick with godless heath...I think I'm just going to stick with godless heathen.Babs Gladhandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05120612577936100239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-5504202740532631972007-10-10T19:46:00.000-04:002007-10-10T19:46:00.000-04:00Personally, I agree with Exterminator, this was a ...Personally, I agree with Exterminator, this was a silly grab for attention by Harris. <BR/><BR/>Sure, a theist may instantly disregard anything you have to say after the word atheist comes into the conversation but does anyone really believe they won't disregard anything you have to say if you choose another title? As soon as they ask you if you believe in a god and you answer no and if that person is already predisposed to ignore you then they will anyway, despite what non-threatening title you use to describe your particular viewpoint. The only way to avoid being ignored by theists with this attitude would be to lie about your beliefs, and who wants to commit to dishonesty simply to convince a person that obviously cares less about truth and more about the opinions of like-minded zombies? I think I'll retain my intellectual dignity thank you. <BR/><BR/>A better route might be to actually educate people about the history of the word itself. I've touched on it a little bit in one my <A HREF="http://atheotatous.blogspot.com/2007/09/agenda-full-of-agendum.html" REL="nofollow">blog posts</A> (shameless plug) but will discuss it a little more here. <BR/><BR/>The word "atheos" was originally slung around by Greek philosophers as an insult. The slur would continue to be used on into the early days of Christianity, and was often used by pagan Philosophers as a slur against Christians, particularly the word "atheotatous," meaning "the most atheist ones." Perhaps, by pointing out to Christians that the very word they use to vilify and dehumanize us is the etymological descendant of the word once used against them, they may be more prone to listen to us. <BR/><BR/>Then again, they might not stick around for the history lesson.Russell Humehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13470484832479103815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-91242861454775197942007-10-09T18:49:00.000-04:002007-10-09T18:49:00.000-04:00SI:Well of course it's a semantics issue. Actually...SI:<BR/><BR/>Well of course it's a semantics issue. Actually, it's a non-issue, just an attention grab by Sam Harris. And, um ... me. <BR/><BR/>I'm just saying that we do have to call ourselves <I>something</I>, at least as long as our godlessness is not accepted by the majority of the world's <I>human</I> inhabitants. (Animals, I believe, are all atheists, although I would hesitate to call them "reasoners" -- except maybe for tool-making crows and other corvids, parrots, octopi, cetaceans, and the higher primates. Oh, and I can't forget Lassie. And, to be fair to the people who think the sun rises and sets on their brilliant kitties, let's throw in the whole lot of domestic cats, too. So on second thought, looking through that list, perhaps there are more reasoners -- in the original sense of the word -- among critters than among humans.)<BR/><BR/>For most of us, though, "atheist" is just fine. Although I do think RAY-znuhr has a very nice ring to it.The Exterminatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452054124550486048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-84585344749121852652007-10-09T18:24:00.000-04:002007-10-09T18:24:00.000-04:00When I was young and less...ummm...reasoning...I u...When I was young and less...ummm...reasoning...I used to think that gays were queer, faggots, and a few other pejoratives I'd be embarrassed to use now. Today I think gays are nice people, just like me, who happen to experience and enjoy sex in a different manner. Nothing more.<BR/><BR/>Most people think atheists are those things I mentioned in my post. If they actually thought what we know is the truth, that we think clearly, are not swayed in our beliefs by illogic or unreason, that we simply insist on evidence before we come to conclusions, that we are, in effect, just like them, except that we look at life (and death) a little different than they do, we will have effectively done to <I>atheist</I> what queers did to <I>gay</I>.<BR/><BR/>So I agree with Philly. It's all semantics at issue. Lets focus on attitudes and understanding, not words. Change the attitudes, the words will fall in line.<BR/><BR/>Besides, I think the Harry Reasoner Estate has the copyright on "reasoner".Spanish Inquisitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05261181794832002207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-28486211363307819382007-10-09T13:17:00.000-04:002007-10-09T13:17:00.000-04:00Nully: How about pronouncing it RAY-znuhr? Or how ...<B>Nully</B>: How about pronouncing it <I>RAY-znuhr</I>? Or how about letting it roll off the tongue as <I>AY-thee-ihst</I>?<BR/><BR/><B>Philly</B>: The Sane. Hmmmm. I like the sound of that. How shall we pronounce it?The Exterminatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452054124550486048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-22433081510306415142007-10-09T10:03:00.000-04:002007-10-09T10:03:00.000-04:00I think it's all a waste of time arguing semantics...I think it's all a waste of time arguing semantics. Brights, Reasoners, Freethinkers, Atheists, blah blah. How about the Sane? How about the Non-Delusional? How about Those Who Use Their Fucking Minds? No, not as snappy?<BR/><BR/>Correct me if I'm wrong, but the objection to Atheist is that the word triggers negative predispositions, correct? So a new title would change that? Bullshit. As you wrote above, the typical response would be to just call us atheists anyway, which we are (personally I prefer anti-theist) so wtf?<BR/><BR/>I say we just take the word back. Yo, my Atheist! How many Atheists we got up in here? What now? I'll tell you what now. I'm gonna call up some hard, reason hittin' Atheists to go to work on my homes here with a pair of unhealed amputees and a list of bible contradictions. You hear me there theist? I'm gonna get 21st century on yo' mind. Sorry, went all <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9TbFDk-bcc&NR=1" REL="nofollow">Pulp Fiction</A> there. Still, my point is so what if "Atheist" conjures certain feelings in people? That speaks to them, not us and we can't run away from who we are or hide behind a new word. I think this is all silly. We're fucking Atheists, damn it! Get over it.PhillyChiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03355892225956705948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36453833.post-23100360577903672422007-10-09T05:42:00.000-04:002007-10-09T05:42:00.000-04:00It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it? ...It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it? Perhaps that's just the way I say it, "ree'zuhn'uhr", though - I can imagine someone else saying it "reez'nuhr".nullifidianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17525511015814128503noreply@blogger.com